Be Strong
by Goddess Athena In Disguise
Summary: Now a series of one shots on broken hearts and soul mates, with Aphrodite  surprisingly  showing up in each one. Chapter 2: Piper
1. 1: Annabeth

**Sorry for being MIA for a whilr, school is busier than ever, but I do my best. The part in bold italics is a note in Greek.**

**Disclaimer: i don't own PJO, however much I wish I did. **

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><p>Annabeth was depressed. There was no other word for it. She knew she couldn't just break down like this but is was so difficult, not having Percy around to support her. Percy… it hurt to even say his name. She would go to the beach and stare silently at the water, almost willing him to rise from its depths.<p>

Annabeth always stopped herself from crying some way or the other. She would work on architecture designs on Daedalus' laptop, but then she'd remember the Labyrinth and their kiss on Mt. St. Helens. She'd inspect the cabins, but then she'd have to pass his cabin, too. She'd teach Ancient Greek to the new campers, but that would remind of her of their lessons when Percy was being a good old Seaweed Brain.

She had always been able to stop herself from crying, always been able to hold those emotions in. But they didn't go away; they just got bigger and stronger and formed a huge ball inside her. Then one day, she snapped.

Annabeth knew she was about to break down, so she ran to the Forest, making it look as if she forgot something in there. Ha. She couldn't believe Malcolm believed her. She ran, with tears streaming down her face, to the only place she knew was completely safe from monsters.

It was a safe haven that Percy and she had found while they were exploring the forest. It was absolutely beautiful, with the creek gurgling by, very tiny at this stage. It's origin must be somewhere near. The clearing was shaded on pretty much all sides by tall oak, maple and a bunch of other trees she didn't care to name at the moment, through which sunlight filtered. It had many wildflowers in it, beautiful with their bright and cheery faces. The grass was soft and green and welcoming, and there were a few rabbit burrows as well. Annabeth lay down on the grass and cried and cried.

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><p>She wished that this whole fiasco had never happened, that the second Great Prophecy should be fulfilled centuries after now. She wished that Percy was still with her and they were enjoying this day together. She wished that none of this had ever happened. It really wasn't fair; she had only just realized that she loved him and her Seaweed Brain goes and gets lost or kidnapped.<p>

She dried her tears somewhat and realized that everyone at camp must be looking for her. She called her favorite owl out of the forest, a beautiful male Snowy Owl named Edgar. She took out some paper and a pen she always kept handy and wrote a little note on it:

_**Dear Malcolm,**_

_**Don't worry about me; I'll be back after dark. I'm safe. Tell Chiron I might not show up for dinner and the campfire. I need some time to think. Make sure you reward Edgar (the owl).**_

_**Wise Girl**_

She rolled it up and gave it to Edgar. "Give this to Malcolm, Ed," she crooned; being a daughter of Athena meant they had to listen to her. Edgar nodded solemnly and flew away, clutching the paper in his beak.

Annabeth sighed and hugged her knees to her chest; she cried a little more when she remembered the time Percy and she made out in this very clearing. _It's time to be strong,_ she thought. _I'm not going to give up so easily. I'll find you, Seaweed Brain, and when I do, you're in big trouble._

Suddenly there was a bright flash. Annabeth averted her eyes and took out her dagger in case it was a monster, but standing in front of her was Aphrodite.

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><p>She sighed, sheathed her dagger and made to stand up when Aphrodite came and sat beside her. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Lady Aphrodite?" she asked warily; the last time she had been given a makeover by her was <em>not<em> pleasant.

Aphrodite smiled. "You're polite even when you're upset," she said. "And still so beautiful; I was right in blessing you dear," Aphrodite absentmindedly said half to herself as she played with Annabeth's curls.

"What? How, Why-" Annabeth started but was cut off my Aphrodite raising a hand.

"Patience Annabeth, I am not allowed to be here, but Percabeth, that is you and Percy, is my favorite couple. I know that in the end, everything will work out fine for you two," she said, smiling sadly. "Love is like euphoric poison, dear, I know how it feels," she said deeply, and Annabeth got the feeling that she wasn't charm-speaking but telling the truth without being fluff-headed. She wondered who Aphrodite could be so in love with.

"I know you think it's difficult," she went on, "and it certainly is. But you've got to be strong; never underestimate the power of love." And with that the goddess of love was gone, only leaving behind a feeling of calm and trust.

Annabeth noticed that it the stars were shining through the treetops; she got up, put her cap on and walked back to camp. Not a single monster attacked her this time. It must be really late, and Malcolm had evidently gotten her message because she hadn't heard any voices calling for her and she had taken a detour this time to make sure. But he was waiting for her in their cabin, the new one, since the old one was full. Only one other person slept with them, Kirsten, and she was six and long asleep.

He didn't say anything, just welcomed her into his strong arms and held her as she rocked with sobs again. Malcolm was the only one close enough to her age to be able to comfort her without it being awkward. But sometimes she felt like they had a connection, a special one between brother and sister only.

"Why does it have to be so hard, Malcolm?" she whispered into his shoulder as he hugged her tighter. Aphrodite's words echoed in her head: _"You've got to be strong."_ But at this moment she wanted nothing more than to pretend to be six and be comforted by him. So that's what she did. And she felt better than she had ever felt over the past six months.

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><p>Malcolm stayed by his sister's side until she was fast asleep. He knew that this was hard on her, but until today he had never known exactly how much she loved Percy. He swore that Percy would be getting it bad from him if he ever hurt Annabeth again. At last when her breathing became even, he tried to get up, but Annabeth grabbed his arm.<p>

"Don't go Percy," she begged in her sleep. "Please." Malcolm crumbled; he couldn't just leave Annabeth like this. So he got into bed next to her and she hugged him unconsciously. "I'm so glad you're back, Seaweed Brain," she muttered. "I've got so much to show you…" she trailed off as she went into a deep sleep. Malcolm hugged her closely, hoping that their siblings won't get the wrong idea in the morning. He would totally kick their butts if they did. And with that he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>No, Malcolm is NOT in love with Annabeth, they're just twins and don't know it yet. They're really close to each other though. and i know, the characters seem a little OOC. Sorry. <strong>

**Goddess Athena In Disguise**


	2. 2: Piper

**Hey guys! I know, I've been gone for so long, and I haven't updated anything, and if it makes you feel better, I feel terrible, but I don't have anything to update right now. **

**But anyway, this is between TLH and SON. Jason gets all of his memories back, and he tells Piper his real feelings about Reyna. Jeyna all the way! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot for this. **

Jason was worried. Of course, he was glad that he had gotten all his memories back, but he couldn't stop thinking about Reyna, and the fact that he had kind of led Piper on. She was probably crazy about him. But he knew for a fact that Leo was crazy about Piper, and he was hoping that they would get together.

Piper was a nice girl, but he had known Reyna for way longer. His image of beauty was Reyna, not Piper, though she was pretty. Reyna was tough, unemotional, and determined, but once she opened up, she was a great person; funny, witty, caring. She was someone he could really rely on, and once the war was over, Jason doubted he'd even see his Greek friends.

There were countless nights when they lay under the stars long after the cohort had gone to sleep, and would just listen to each other breathe. At times like those, Reyna usually told him her deepest secrets and he told her his secrets too. She knew everything about him, except that he had fallen in love with her the moment he set eyes on her.

He remembered the night when they each had their first kiss…

_It was a warm summer's night, and Reyna and he were looking up at the stars as usual, trying to spot as many constellations as they could. _

_He stared at her face, which could be impassive in senate meetings, stormy in fights and carefree, relaxed and utterly beautiful in times like these. _

_Reyna caught his gaze. He wasn't able to look away; it was like her brown eyes weaved a net around him and drew him closer and closer, until they were less than an inch apart… _

_He leaned forward just a little bit and their lips touched. It couldn't have been longer than ten seconds, but it was pure bliss. Reyna's lips were impossibly soft, and tasted like the juicy strawberries they looked like. They were parted slightly in shock, but she didn't look angry. _

"_I'm sorry, Rey, I just had to do it once," he said, pleading for her to not be angry. She smiled at him, and it was a brilliant smile. _

"_I'm glad you did that, Jason," she said softly, looking at him timidly, an emotion Reyna never expressed. _

_He smiled widely and leaned forward to kiss her again. _

Jason smiled at the memory. He really missed Reyna, and wanted the months to fly by so he could return and kiss her until she was dizzy.

There was another one, when they were in the woods in a clearing the two of them had found, when he first told her he loved her…

_They were just sitting there in that special clearing, Reyna's head in his lap as he played with her open hair. She only opened her braid when it was just the two of them. _

_He wasn't sure where it came from, but he meant it from the depths of his heart. And he had been meaning to say it for nearly three years now. _

"_I love you, Reyna Bell." _

_She sat up and looked at him, and for a second he was afraid that she was just playing with him, and didn't want to tell him that she didn't quite feel the same way…_

"_I love you, too, Jason Grace." _

_Well, whatever it was, he didn't expect to hear that. _

_He smiled so widely his head might have cracked in two, and attacked Reyna's mouth with a vengeance. They kissed passionately and fervently, sparks literally flying between the two as Reyna fell on top of him. She moaned as his tongue explored her mouth and his hands roamed her perfect body. He was on autopilot, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he should stop, that it wasn't safe… _

_He pulled away, immediately hating himself as he saw Reyna's hurt look. He hurried to explain. _

"_Rey, I really do love you, but I don't want to do something that both of us will regret later on. We're just fifteen, anyway, and I don't want to rush you into something you'll regret the next morning," he explained, hoping she didn't leave him. She stopped him with a kiss. _

"_I know what you mean, Jay, and I appreciate that you're looking out for us," she said softly, hugging him close. _

_They fell asleep there, and he was glad he listened to the feeling before it was too late. _

Yes, they had good times; and he wished that they would never end. He wished that they all survived this war and he could settle down with Reyna. Thinking of which, he had to go and confess to Piper.

-break-

Jason knocked on the door of the Aphrodite cabin, which was luckily answered by Piper. She was wearing a camp T-shirt and shorts.

"Hey, Piper, can I come in? There's something I need to tell you." He asked nervously.

"Sure, come on in, no one's here anyway," she led him to her bunk. At least the place didn't reek of designer perfume anymore. He wasn't sure where to start.

"Piper, when I was at Camp Jupiter, there was this girl with me, Reyna," he started out. She nodded, wary of his next words.

"She was my fellow praetor, and… and my girlfriend," he swallowed hard. He didn't want to hurt Piper.

"Piper, I fell for her the minute I saw her," he said, his eyes becoming dreamy as he went on. "We were both twelve when she came to camp, and she might not be pretty to other people, but to me, she was perfect, even covered in sweat and grime. She's tough, but if she wasn't she wouldn't be Reyna. She's an awesome person, and I love her with all my heart," he finished, looking at her pleadingly.

"Surely you understand the importance and power of love, Piper," he said a little urgently now. "I'm really sorry if I might have led you on, but please, don't let it get in the way of our friendship, I'm begging you. You're a great girl, Piper, but I don't like you that way."

Piper just nodded, her kaleidoscope eyes looking a little teary. He really hoped that he hadn't hurt her too badly, but he had an awesome girlfriend waiting for him back at Camp Jupiter.

"It's okay, Jason, you were muddled, and I'm sorry if I might have taken advantage of that. I understand, and we weren't even together in the first place," she said, looking down. He felt elated; she wasn't that upset after all!

He smiled at her. He hoped that she would get someone who really loved her, like Leo. He had loved her for ages, but didn't want to say anything because Piper had been so crazy for Jason.

"Thanks, Piper, I knew you'd understand," he said happily and went to his cabin happily; just a little worried that Piper might have been more upset than she let on.

-break-

She locked the cabin and curled into a ball on her bed and cried and cried and cried. She had really loved him, but she knew that a part of her had always said that he wasn't the right one for her. She wished she had listened, but he was just so handsome, pretty, charming, kind, and so perfect.

She wasn't aware of her mother until the love goddess' hands pulled her into a strong embrace, which she returned, crying into her mother's shoulder. Her mother was the love goddess; did it really feel like this when someone broke your heart for the first time?

"Why does it happen, mom? Why is it so hard?" she asked, crying some more. Her mascara was running down her cheeks and her eyes were red.

"He wasn't meant for you, Piper," Aphrodite soothed her, stroking her hair. "the one who will never leave you is close by."

"But why, mother? Why?" she demanded. "I'm pretty, I can fight, so why not me? Why don't you make him fall in love with me?"

"Piper, he is, to put it roughly, taken. And he never really liked you in the first place," she said as gently as she could.

"But you're the goddess of love, and I'm your favorite daughter," she sobbed. "Why, mom? Why?"

Aphrodite sighed.

"Have you heard of soul mates, Piper?"

She shook her head.

"Well, people were originally born with two heads, four eyes, four ears, two noses and mouths and two bodies. But Zeus cut them apart with an axe and they forever roamed the earth, looking for their missing piece. It isn't a myth, dear," she explained patiently to the sniffling girl.

"Jason and Reyna are soul mates, much like Percy and Annabeth, Clarisse and Chris and you and…" she stopped herself just in time. "You soul mate is a wonderful person, and I can't change who it is. Nothing will feel right of you aren't with your soul mate, Piper. You must be strong and believe in the power of love. The one you seek is no less wonderful than the one you left behind," she said, and faded away.

Piper stood up shakily and went to the bathroom to make herself look presentable. When she came out, Leo was standing uncomfortably in the doorway.

"There's something I need to tell you, Piper," he blurted out. She nodded, waiting. Whatever is was, he seemed to change his mind and just said that the conch had blown before he raced out the door.

She shook her head, baffled. That wasn't what he was going to tell her. Maybe he needed girl advice. But whatever it was, she could find out later.

But from then onwards, she somehow found the son of Hephaestus more attractive than she cared to admit.

**So, how was it? Yes, this story is now a collection of one shots that are quite angsty and sad, and mostly a stress buster, but it is a collection of them with almost every main female character. **

**I'm not going to ask you to review because it isn't really fair to ask you guys to R & R something that I wrote when I was… emotionally disturbed, to put it delicately. But feel free to leave a comment! **

**-Goddess Athena In Disguise**


	3. 3: Reyna

**I know, Percy and Reyna is as likely as Percy and Clarisse *shudder*, okay, maybe not as unlikely as that, but this is just friendship so don't go getting any ideas. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO. **

Reyna was depressed. Not least because Jason was gone, and it was so hard to hate Percy Jackson, because he was just so kind and caring and fun and _so like Jason._ She just wanted Jason to come back and everything would be the way it had been before, but it was all in her head.

She came up with so many different scenarios, but they all revolved around him forgetting absolutely everything and hooking up with another girl and ditching her as soon as he came back. She sighed and bit her lip, trying to curb the tears that threatened to spill over, and fell asleep.

Venus came to her in her dream.

"Oh, Reyna, don't be so upset," she said, looking at the scene before them. "He doesn't remember anyone right now, but he will… soon. Believe in my power, dear, and don't be discouraged by what you see."

She turned to the scene that Venus had brought her to. She was sitting in a bus, and opposite her were a Latino boy with curly hair, a pretty girl with choppy brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes and…

Jason! He looked just as he did each day, but he was just waking up and looked really confused, and what was that? The girl was holding his hand! Reyna clenched her hands. How dare she try and make a move on her Jason!

She watched as they told him that he had fallen asleep and the boy cracked a lame joke. They told him he went to school with them, and he just played along with it! He didn't remember anything except his first name, for Olympus' sake!

She woke with a start, remembering everything that the dream showed. It was devastating. How could he just forget everything and go off with some blonde girl in a chariot? He was Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata! And he was the love of her life, who had left her for a pretty Venus girl with the good looks that characterized their kind.

She got up and sank to the floor, curling up and crying her eyes out. She didn't care if someone came and found her, she just wanted this hurting inside her to stop, for him to come back and sweep her in his strong arms and kiss her again…

"Reyna?"

Oh, no.

It was Percy again. Kind, sweet, goofy, silly, endearing Percy, who helped everyone out and had a heart bigger than this valley. But she didn't want to see anyone right now, not even Percy.

Without warning, strong arms lifted her up and into a welcoming embrace. She knew it was Percy, and for once she made no move to resist. On the contrary, she hugged him tight and cried into his shoulder, and he just held her close, like Jason would have if he were here. But Jason wasn't here, and just the thought of him brought on a fresh round of tears.

Once she was done crying, she raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him. They were sitting on her bed in her room at 12:15 AM, and she was in his lap. She wasn't sure how they got there, but she suddenly realized that it had been months since someone held her like this, since someone held her at all.

"So, what happened, Reyna?" He asked gently, not wanting to pry. She took a deep breath. After all, he deserved to know.

"I just miss Jason so much, Percy, and I'm not sure if he'll remember me or if he does, if he'll want me anymore or if he'll even return from this quest or if…"

She was cut off by Percy pressing his lips to hers. It was surprising and sudden, and lasted just a few seconds, but it quieted her rather efficiently. When Percy pulled away, he was red, and she was pretty sure her face was red as well.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm not very good at handling crying people," he said to her, red-faced. She had to smile at his reasoning.

"But Reyna, if you really loved him and you're sure that he loved you back, then I'm pretty sure that everything will turn out all right," he said. Then he bit his lip, as if he was considering whether to say something or not.

"If it helps, I could stay here for the rest of the night," he offered, still looking unsure of himself.

"Thanks, Percy," she found herself saying, and they snuggled up close to each other, but couldn't seem to sleep.

Eventually, Reyna gave up trying to sleep, and peeked at the son of Poseidon. He looked restless, too, and smiled as she caught her gaze. They shared experiences for the rest of the night, and Reyna was surprised to find out that Circe used to turn the other men into guinea pigs. It certainly justified why he and that girl had destroyed the island.

Reyna must have fallen asleep at some point during the night, because when she woke a little before dawn, Percy's arms were firmly around her and their legs were intertwined. She blushed as she remembered the first (and only other) person who had held her like that.

But for some reason, she didn't feel so nervous anymore. She had the son of Nept-Poseidon at her side if things went wrong. But it was wrong to rely on him, even if he was the most powerful demigod of the century. She decided that she would live through this and there was no reason for her to become hysterical as she had last night.

Because she loved Jason, and he loved her back, and the world wouldn't end if he got together with that Venus girl. She just wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with her. And if she ended up heartbroken (which she would be if he ditched her), well, she had a shoulder to cry on.

Percy's shoulder, to be exact.

Because he might deny power, have more strengths than he realizes, and be childish at times, but he was definitely a good friend.

**R&R, people, R&R! Just a sweet little oneshot for this angsty little collection. For some reason, my endings never turn out the way I want them to. Who should I write about next? Review and tell me please!**

**-Goddess Athena In Disguise**


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